PRIMARY HOME (top left): "The Kennedy Compound" Hyannis Port MA - a 2-story shingled frame house on 6 acres along Nantucket Sound on Cape Cod. Included in the Compound were the homes of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Joseph P. Kennedy.PHOTO CREDIT: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston MA

BIRTHPLACE (bottom right): 83 Beale Street - a 3-story frame house in Brookline MAPHOTO CREDIT: Homes and Libraries of the Presidents by William G. Clotworthy

"The Cape is the one place I can think and be alone."

John F. Kennedy spent his infancy in a modest but upper middle class home. Soon, however, his parents amassed considerable fortune and political influence that provided their children with a privileged existence. The Kennedys owned a palatial home outside New York City , a residence in Manhattan , a rented villa on the Riviera , a winter home in Palm Beach , Florida , and a summer home on Cape Cod .

In the 1950s, JFK established his own home on the Cape adjacent to his parents' home which later became the site for his "Summer White House" during his presidency. Here he could get away for private meetings, join rowdy family gatherings, or reflect quietly. "I always come back to the Cape and walk the beach when I have a tough decision to make."